Truth in the Stones - Daryl Dixon -
by AndyTheAwesome
Summary: "How does this benefit me? How does it benefit us?" I asked, referring to me, Jeremy, and Daryl. "I care about my group. Although most of it may not be by blood, it's pretty damn close." I stepped back, my grip on the dinning room chair becoming loose. "I've known you guys for a long time, but don't make me choose between you and my family." I finished before leaving the room.
1. Chapter 1

_"Man, this shits crazy." _

_"Don't swear, Jer. There are kids around here."_  
_"Please, swearing while kids are around are least bit of our troubles."_  
_We were stuck, waiting, for the block to clear up. The turn - as the Georgians had called it - was currently happening. Everyone in the state was trying to enter Atlanta, where the refugee center was located at. I voted against it. It was just going to bring all the food to one place but one man's vote against four wasn't really made for democracy. I looked behind me, spotting Lori and Shane walk off into the woods after a fight had broke out. I mentally rolled my eyes, trying not to show my irritability. I knew that they had hooked up before behind a bush which I thought was utterly disgusting. I hadn't known her or Carl for long - in fact, I hadn't known them at all until about two days ago. I knew I couldn't judge her but her husband had just died and she had moved on faster than you can imagine.  
"Holy shit."  
The bombs echoed through the streets as they hit the city. I looked in horror as did everyone else that the once beautiful city of Atlanta was now being destroyed into pieces. _

Present Time 

"Hey, you alive in there?" Glenn asked through the walkie-talkie after only hearing static.

We had just witnessed a man enter an army tank after being overrun by walkers. Glenn had somehow convinced me to help him but I was starting to regret that decision. If he was even alive, why would we be out here risking our lives for some douchebag we didn't even know?

"Hello? Hello?" An exasperated voice replied. "Oh there you are. You had me wondering." Glenn sighed in relief. "Where are you? Are you outside? Can you see my right now?" The man asked. "Yeah, we can see you. You're surrounded by walkers." I peered over the side of building, spotting only the dead. But what was I expecting to see? Hundreds of military men shooting walkers one-by-one and bringing us to safety? I highly doubt that'll happen. "We? There's two of you?" I rolled my eyes and signaled for Glenn to keep talking.

"That's not important right now. You got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the _feeding frenzy_ where the horse went down. You with me so far?" Glenn asked rapidly.

"So far." The man responded. "Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance. Then jump off the right side of the tank and keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street maybe fifty yards - be there." Glenn instructed. "Hey, what are your names?" I rolled my eyes and grabbed the small device out of Glenn's hands. "Have you been listening? You're running out of time!" I exclaimed. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!" Glenn commanded as we slid down the ladder.

While running towards the alley, gun shots could be heard for miles around and I started to think about the dangers his actions could cost us. We reached the gate where we finally met the mystery man - a gun pointed to Glenn's face. Once he realized we weren't dead, we all began running in the other direction towards the fire escape. I didn't bother turning around and I reached the ladder first, climbing up as fast as I could. The man was still shooting at walkers until Glenn yelled at him to stop. I moved over to the farthest side of the ledge, giving Glenn and the man room to stand beside me. I rested my hands on the cold metal bars, leaning over and catching my breath. I looked down, getting a good view of the walkers below us. The adrenaline rushed through my veins as I glanced over at Glenn and then to the mystery man.

"Nice moves there Clint Eastwood. You the new sheriff? Riding in to clean up the town?" Glenn asked sarcastically, still catching his breath. "Wasn't my intention." The man admitted. "Yeah, whatever, yee-haw. You're still a dumbass." I replied, exhaling a deep breath. The man acknowledged me and stook his hand out to me. "Rick." He introduced. I looked at his hand and then hastily shook it. "Cheyenne." I muttered. He then turned to Glenn shaking his hand as well. "Thanks." He said, directing it toward Glenn and I. "Yeah, well I wouldn't be thanking us yet." I stared up at the rest of the ladder, shielding my eyes from the blinding sun. I glanced over at Glenn before glancing up at the ladder again, nodding my head - agreeing we had no other choice but to climb up. "On the bright side, it'll be the fall that kills us." Glenn commented. "I'm a 'glass half-full' kinda guy."

He let me climb up first, him and Rick trailing behind me. I could still hear the snarling of the dead as we jogged to the roof entrance. "You the ones who barricaded the alley?" Rick asked. "Somebody did, I guess when the city got overrun. Whoever did it was thinking. Not many geeks get through." Glenn replied. When we reached the roof entrance, I quickly unhitched the lock and the rusty metal doors squeaked as they opened. "Back at the tank, why did you both stick your necks out for me?" Rick wondered. "Call it foolish, naive hope." Glenn said, throwing his backpack down the entrance. "That if were ever that far up the shit creek, somebody might do the same for us."

"Guess that makes us even bigger dumbasses than you." I added, climbing my way down. Rick copied our actions - shutting the doors and jumping down the rest of the way. We ran through a unfastidious room until we reached the exit door - meeting with a set of gray, metal steps. "I'm back, got a guest. There's four geeks in the alley." Glenn breathed his words into the walkie talkie. I came to a sudden stop, grabbing the attention of two walkers who were in the alley. Glenn and Rick stopped behind me as well, backing up a few steps as the walkers came closer. The door of the other building opened and, who I'm guessing was T-Dog and Morales, came out in their black protective suits with bats and began beating the walkers down. We took this as an opportunity to run to the door, Morales and T-Dog trailing behind.

As soon as we entered the room, Andrea grabbed Rick by the shirt and pushed him harshly against a pile of crates. "Son of a bitch! We outta kill you!" Andrea exclaimed, pointing a gun in Rick's face. I stood beside Glenn as we watched the scene in front of us unfold. "Just chill out Andrea. Back off." Morales commanded. "C'mon, ease up." Jacqui added. "Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole." Andrea narrowed her eyes as the grip on her gun became tighter. "Andrea, I said back the hell off." Morales repeated. "Or pull the trigger."

Andrea did as Morales told her and took a few steps back. "We're dead. All of us - because of you." Andrea choked, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't understand." Rick stated. "Look, we came into the city to scavenge for supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving." Morales said as he grabbed Rick by the arm, leading him into the next room - the rest of us following. "You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out not shooting up the streets like you have."

"Every geek for miles heard you popping off rounds." T-Dog added.

"You just rang the dinner bell."


	2. Chapter 2

"The hell were you doing out there anyway?" Andrea asked Rick. We watched as the walkers banged on the door - one even had a rock and was using it  
towards it leverage. "Trying to flag the helicopter." Rick replied. "Helicopter? Man, that's crap. There wasn' no damn helicopter." T-Dog exclaimed. "You were chasing a hallucination - an imagination, it happens." Jacqui explained. "I saw it." Rick said sternly. He was standing his ground but I highly doubt anyone would believe him - not in this situation.

"Hey T-Dog, try that CB." Morales told T-Dog. He immediately began fiddling with the knobs, receiving only static. "Can you contact the others?" Morales asked. "Others? The refugee center." Rick questioned. "Yeah, the refugee center. They've got biscuits waiting in the oven for us." I answered sarcastically. "Got no signal." T-Dog informed us. "Maybe the roof?" He suggested. But once those words left his mouth, gunshots were heard from that direction. "Oh no. Was that Dixon?" Andrea asked more as a statement. We all groaned and ran in the direction of the steps leading us to the roof. We all ran up the spiral steps, Morales busting through the door and we were met with the face of Merle Dixon.

"Hey Dixon, are you crazy?!" Morales shouted but Merle simply laughed in response as he fired another shot. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're just attracting more of them!" I yelled. Merle turned around at my voice and began chuckling again. "Hey, you both outta be more polite to a man with a gun." Merle said as he jumped off the ledge of the roof. "Only common sense." He added. "Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got. You're gonna bring more of them things down here on our ass man. Just chill." T-Dog exclaimed. Merle began walking closer towards T-Dog, still clutching his shotgun. "You think I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so bro - that'll be the day." Merle said. T-Dog frowned. "That'll be the day?" T-Dog repeated. "You got something you wanna tell me?" T-Dog challenged as he narrowed his eyes at Merle. Morales tried to make peace between them but his plan failed. Rick looked over at me as if he wanted to know if any of us were going to say anything. I shook my head in response. It was never good to get in anyone's 'affairs' in the camp especially when it had to do with Merle or his brother.

"You wanna know the day?" Merle asked. "Yeah." T-Dog nodded. "I'll tell ya the day, Mr. Yo, it's the day I take orders from a nigger." T-Dog lunged at Merle, throwing a punch but Merle retorted by hitting in the face with the back of his shotgun. A fight broke out and Rick tried to intervene but was punched in the face and knocked to the ground by Merle. Everyone began shouting at Merle to stop and even Morales tried to help but was hit in the stomach by Merle. I helped Rick recover from his fall and pulled him up from off the ground. By now, T-Dog was on the ground and being beaten up by Merle. Dixon finally pulled out a gun a pointed it in T-Dog's face. T-Dog just lay there and waited for Merle's next move. Andrea started pleading with Merle not to do it as he held the gun firmly in his hands. He looked at us all, one by one, and then spit on T-Dog - rubbing it in his shirt.

"Alright, we gonna have ourselves a pow-wow now, huh?" Merle stated as he stood up. "Who's in charge? I vote me." We all aided T-Dog and pulled him away from Merle as Jacqui began patting T-Dog's head with a cloth. "Show of hands, ya'll. All in favor." Dixon sneered. Morales was the first one to put his hand up and I groaned as he gave up so easily. Andrea, Jacqui and Glenn raised their hands moments after and I reluctantly raised my hand - not wanting to aggravate Merle more. "Yeah, that means I'm the boss, right? Anybody else? Huh? Anybody?" Merle asked. "Yeah." Rick said before hitting Merle with his same shotgun. He took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed one on Merle's wrist and the other on a pipe.

"Who the hell are you man?" Merle asked as he struggled, trying to get loose from Rick's grip. "Officer friendly." Rick responded sarcastically. "Look here, Merle, things are different now. There are no 'niggers' anymore, no more dumb as shit, white trash inbred fool either - only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart." Rick said after reloading his gun. "Screw you man." Merle replied. "I can see you make a habit of missing the point." Rick sighed. "Yeah? Well screw you twice." He sneered. Rick had a look of annoyance on his face as he pointed his gun at Merle's head. "You outta be more polite to a man with a gun. Only common sense." Rick mocked.

Our heavy breathing was the only audible noise with the exception of the dead and Rick held his gun on Merle's temple. "You wouldn't. You're a cop." Merle said, his voice raspy. "All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anyone in the way of that's gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that." Rick hissed. He began searching for Merle for any weapons but instead found a little pouch with what I presume was some substance of a drug. "Got some on your nose there." Rick teased as he flicked his nose. "What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" Merle chuckled but his laughter soon died out when Rick threw his 'source' out onto the streets of the city. "Hey! What are you doing man?! That's my stuff!" Merle shouted as he began struggling against the handcuffs. "If I get loose, you better pray!" Merle spat. Rick ignored him as Merle continued to yell. "We're on our own. It's up to us to find a way out."

-  
"This is it? You sure?" Morales asked in disbelief. Glenn, Andrea, Rick, Morales, Jacqui, and I were in the buildings basement looking for a way out through the sewers. "I've really scoped out this place the other times I was here. It's the only thing in the building that goes down." I said as I lite the sewer with my flashlight. "But I've never gone down it." I added. "Who would want to right?" Glenn chuckled nervously.

I glared at Glenn for ratting us out. Everyone knew me and Glenn were the ones who went on runs the most and we were pretty handy with sneaking in and out. Everyone looked over to Glenn and then to me and I sighed. "Oh. Great." Glenn said grimly, realizing they wanted us to go down there. "We'll be right behind you guys." Andrea reassured us. "No you won't. Not you." Glenn stated. "Why not me? Think I can't?" Andrea asked offended. "I wasn't-" Glenn stuttered. "Speak your mind." Rick told Glenn. I rolled my eyes. "Look, until now, me and Glenn were the only ones who came here - in and out - grab a few things and no problem. The first time we bring a full group, everything goes to hell. If you want to go down this black hole, fine. But only if we do it our way." I stated. "It's tight down there. If I'm running from something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me and getting me killed." I added.

"Rick, you've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store watching those doors and covering our ass." I told Rick. "You've got the only other gun so you should go with him." I said to Andrea. "Jacqui, you and Morales stay up here. If something happens, yell down to us and get us back up here in a hurry." I commanded. "Okay, everybody know's there jobs." Rick said, patting Glenn's shoulder. I put the flashlight in my mouth to have free hands and began climbing down the ladder - Glenn copying my actions. I got to the bottom and I could feel the milky brown water soak into my shoes. I signaled for Glenn to go first but he shook his head. "No you go first. I'll protect you from behind." He smiled nervously.

I rolled my eyes and began walking through the dark tunnel. A mouse squeaked loudly and Glenn cringed and squealed. I rolled my eyes again and pushed the mouse carefully to the side with my shoe. We opened another door which lead through the same tunnel. "Yeah, we got ourselves a sewer tunnel." I commented after finding a small gate that probably lead to the outside. We both shined our flashlights on it, trying inspect it. "Can we cut through it?" Glenn asked looking towards me. "If we had a blow torch. Sure. Dull hacks sure as hell won't do it." I informed Glenn. We heard a 'squishy' sound and we both shone our lights on it - finding a walker feeding on something. It groaned and reached out to us through the gates and we backed up, frightened.

It continued snarling at us and I could see the remains of a mouse in it's hands.


	3. Chapter 3

"That construction site, those trucks, they always keep keys on hand." Rick informed us as we stood over the roof ledge. Rick handed Morales his binoculars and he looked through them then back down to the walkers. "We'll never make it past the walkers." He said truthfully. Rick looked over at me and Glenn. "You guys got me out of that tank." Rick stated. "Yeah but they were feeding. They were distracted." Glenn explained. "Can't we distract them again?" Rick asked. "He's on to something. " Merle commented from his spot by the pipe causing all of us to turn and face him. "A diversion."

"They're drawn by sound, right?" Rick questioned, completely ignoring Merle. "Right - like dogs. They hear sound, they come." I responded. "What else?" Rick asked. "Aside from they hear you? They see you, they smell you, and if they catch you, they eat you." Morales said. "They can tell us by smell?" Rick asked in disbelief. "Can't you? They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct." Andrea explained. We all stood silent for a moment before Rick spoke.  
"I've got an idea."

"If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold." Glenn mumbled as Rick handed him a pair of gloves. "He's right. Just stop, okay? Take some time to think this through." Morales said, backing up Glenn's statement. "How much time? They already got through one set of doors. That glass won't hold up forever." Rick retorted, throwing Glenn a trench coat. Morales and Rick went out into the alley, picking up one of the walkers they had beat up earlier and dragged it into the room. Rick sighed as he slid the protective plastic over his face. He used a crowbar and broke the glass in which an axe was in. We all stood in silence and I glance up at Rick, waiting for him to make a move.

The plan was basically to chop a walker up, get it's guts, and smear it all over us. I wasn't looking forward to what was going to happen next. I took a step back as Rick lifted his axe and proceeded to chop up the walker. Everyone cringed at the sight but I stood put, my eyes fixed on the walker. Sure it was pretty disgusting but I couldn't help but think that before all this, that used to be a person. He used to worry about paying the bills and everyday problems like us. But now he's just another one of those lifeless, monsters that are roaming the earth now. I suddenly felt the wretched smell burn my nostrils and and I covered my nose in disgust. Rick passed Morales the axe and ordered him to take over the job. Morales hastily grabbed the mask and lifted up the axe to chop up the walker as well.

"Oh god I'm gonna hurl." Glenn groaned as he bent over. Morales chopped up the walker a bit more before Rick told us to grab some of the guts and begin getting to work. Rick began smearing on himself - Jacqui and Morales helping him while Andrea and I helped Glenn. I grabbed one of walker's intestines and draped it over Glenn's shoulder. "Oh it's bad. It's really bad." Glenn whined as he closed his eyes in disgust. "Think about something else." I suggested. "Like puppies and kittens." I added. "_Dead _puppies and kittens." T-Dog muttered from beside Rick. That was too much for Glenn to handle and he bent over and threw up. "That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Andrea asked T-Dog, slightly glaring at him. "Next time, let the cracker beat his ass." Jacqui hissed. "I'm sorry." T-Dog mumbled.

"Do we smell like them?" Rick questioned. I nodded my head, my nose scrunched up in disgust. "Oh yeah." I muttered as I continued to smear more guts on Glenn. "Glenn," Andrea handed her gun to him, "Just in case." She sighed. She awkwardly lifted Glenn's coat and tucked it in the waistband of his jeans. "If we make it back, be ready." Rick told us. "What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog asked, a look of disgust on his face. Rick dug in his pocket before pulling out a small golden key and handing it to T-Dog. T-Dog nodded, knowing that was the key to the handcuffs. "Give me the axe." Rick ordered Morales.

"We need more guts."

We all - except for Rick and Glenn - came running through the roof door and toward the roof ledge. "Hey, what's happening?" Merle asked but we all ignored him. "T-Dog, try that CB." Morales commanded. "Hey c'mon, talk to me y'all." Merle pleaded but we all continued to ignore him. He wasn't the issue right now - the issue now was making sure that Rick and Glenn made it out safely. I stood beside Andrea as I peered over the ledge. "This is T-Dog. Anybody hear me? Can anybody out there hear me?" I overheard T-Dog saying. Morales had a pair of binoculars and was looking down at the walkers before spotting Rick and Glenn. "There." Morales said as he pointed a finger in their direction. I looked up at the sky after hearing a small roar of thunder.  
"That asshole's on the street with them handcuff keys?" I heard Merle asked. I turned around and saw T-Dog waving the golden key in his hands, shutting Merle up.

"Shane is that you?" T-Dog replied after he had gotten a voice on the CB. We all turned to look at T-Dog, hoping we had gotten in connection with the rest of our group. "We're trapped in the department store." T-Dog said, desperately trying to keep the connection. "Geeks are all over the place - hundreds of them. We're surrounded." He added. But after a couple of seconds, we lost the connection. I rolled my eyes at the situation we were in but there's was nothing that could be done about it except fight our way out. Suddenly, I felt a water droplet drop on my hand and I groaned, knowing what was about to happen. The rain instantly began pouring down and I knew Rick and Glenn were in trouble.

"If they get there on time they might make it. It's a quick pass." Morales said, referring to the rain. I glanced at Jacqui worriedly as I bit my lip. It would be a miracle if Rick and Glenn wouldn't be unspotted and that worried me. I loved Glenn as a friend and Rick would probably become a very valuable member to our group. It would be terrible if they didn't make it. "C'mon, c'mo, c'mon." Morales encouraged Rick and Glenn as they ran though the walker crowd, killing every other one that came close by. I witnessed them in the crowd - jumping the gates. I could see Rick and Glenn running around, trying to find a way to get out of the situation. We saw them getting into a truck driving fastly in the other direction as the walkers overpowered the gate, knocking it down. By now, the rain had stopped and we were all surprised by their actions.

"Their leaving us." Andrea stated. "No. No they can't be. They must...be trying to find a way back to us without having to go through that herd." I laughed nervously. Andrea glanced at me unsure as everyone continued to deny the fact that they were leaving us. After a couple minutes of desperation, we noticed the truck coming back and heard the loud screech of a car followed by the car alarm. We finally realized they were here and picked up all our stuff and ran towards the door. I heard Merle yelling something at us but I couldn't think or stop right now.

The most important thing to me was getting out alive. Andrea began yelling at Morales to come on as he trailed by the door. I didn't stop for a second as I ran down the stairs behind Jacqui. Andrea and Morales soon were behind us and we ran through another door, leading to the garage. I grabbed the metal chain to open the garage as did Andrea and Jacqui. We waited for Rick to give us a signal before we began pulling the chain rapidly. Andrea and T-Dog began throwing everything in the truck and we all hurried into the truck, closing the door before the walkers could get to us. I stood in the corner of the truck, breathing heavily. Everyone around was trying to catch their breathe after our adrenaline packed experience.

We all looked toward T-Dog, noticing Merle wasn't in the truck. "I dropped the damn key." He admitted. We all stayed quiet before Andrea broke the silence. "Where's Glenn?" She asked. At that moment, he questioned was answered as the sound of a car alarm was heard again - the car driving past us with Glenn screaming in excitement.  
I smiled slightly, knowing at least someone was having fun.


	4. Chapter 4

We arrived at the camp minutes later and I immediately left the truck and ran into the arms of my brother, Jeremy, much like Andrea did with Amy. I hugged him tightly as I felt the warmth of his brown sweater seep into my skin. I glanced up at Shane, sending him a smile which he returned. "Hey helicopter boy, come say hello!" Morales yelled towards Rick. I smiled at the nickname Morales had given him. "Guys a cop - like you." Morales told Shane. I saw Shane and Rick looking at each other in surprise as if they had known each other.

Suddenly, I heard Carl scream, "Dad! Dad!" as he ran into Rick's arms. Lori also came jogging up to Rick, indulging him in a hug as well. I looked towards Shane with a raised eyebrow to which he shook his head - informing me he'd tell me later. I had a lot of questions for him and I intended to ask him later. But for the moment, I smiled - feeling happy that something so joyful can happen in a world like this. "Can't say you see miracles like everyday, can you Dale?" I asked, nudging Dale in the ribs softly. "No you can't. I'm glad you made it back safely." He smiled, giving me a hug as well.

-  
"That's Lori's husband?" I was talking to Shane behind the RV, away from everyone else. Shane nodded his head in response. "He was your best friend in the department too, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not _was_, is." He corrected. "Shane, you slept with-"  
"That's Uncle Shane." He told me sternly. I rolled my eyes as irritability took over my face. "You're only six years older than me. I think that whole 'Uncle' thing ended before it started." I argued. "I don't care if I'm your same age, you're my brother's daughter and that makes you my niece. One that I promised to take care of - Jeremy too."

"Yeah, was that promise made before or after he was devoured in front of our eyes?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow.  
"Cheyenne, don't you dare take it there." He sighed. "You know I tried the best I could to protect you all. What happened with John was a mistake and I would take it back if I could but if you haven't noticed, we don't get do-overs." He added, shifting his weight onto his other foot and putting his hand on his hip. "You call that a mistake? I say giving someone a ham sandwich when they asked for turkey is a mistake. Some psycho taking a life isn't a mistake." I laughed coldly. "What's going on here?" I heard a voice say behind the RV. Jeremy appeared a second later, a worried look on his face. "Oh nothing. Just reminiscing." I smiled sarcastically before walking off, not forgetting to shoot Shane a glare.

-  
We all sat around the campfire, listening to Rick's story. Rick told us about his waking up alone from his coma, finding the hospital overrun, and hoping it was all just a bad dream. I think we all wanted to think that at least once but we had to come back to reality sooner or later. Hoping it was a dream was just wishful thinking. "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked after a few seconds of silence. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." He added. I mentally groaned, knowing he was right. Knowing the way Daryl was, he was going to throw a huge fit just like his brother and do something very irrational.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key - I'll tell him." T-Dog admitted. "I cuffed him. That makes him mine." Rick argued.  
"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't wanna bring race into it but I think it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn reasoned. "I did what I did. I'm not gonna hide from it." T-Dog defended. "We could lie." Amy suggested. "We tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he could've gotten us killed." Andrea said. I had to agree with Andrea.

Although, I knew Daryl would take it bad either way so I guess telling the truth would be the best way. "And if Merle got left behind, that's nobody's fault but his." She added. "And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked in disbelief. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that." He looked at Andrea for a moment before she put her head down in defeat. "Word to the wise, we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back."

"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it." T-Dog admitted. "We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" I asked. "I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow, maybe half-a-dozen geeks could squeeze through there. One at a time, it's not enough to break - not that chain, not that padlock." He reassured himself.

"My point is Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof."


	5. Chapter 5

"God, your shit at this." I teased as Jeremy had yet again missed the black bulls-eye I had drawn on the tree with a dry marker. I lent him my Genesis bow to try and practice with but he failed miserably. My bow, which I had named Maya, wasn't a crossbow like Daryl's. I was an original model of the bow and arrow but mine just had a bit more gadgets on it than the Native American's had. My father had given it to me when I was 13 - not that that really mattered. "You should stick to guns." I chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, just keep laughing. I'm gonna save your ass one day." He flung the bow string back and aimed at the mark with one eye closed. He missed again by a long shot. "See, your problem is you close one eye. You have to keep both your eyes open." I said before snatching Maya out of his hands. "Like this." I instructed, as I pulled back the bow string and got the mark on point. "I'm impressed." He admitted, pursing his lips.

"You should-" I started but was interrupted by screams that sounded like Sophia and Carl. I looked at him for a moment before we both began racing through the woods. We were the first one's there and I ushered Carl and Sophia towards Lori as we ran to the place they were at before. We came face-to-face with a walker to what looked like was eating the remains of a dead deer. Shane, Rick, and Glenn appeared first - circling around the walker as if in a boxing match. I heard Amy and Andrea gasp from behind us, not liking the scene in front of them. The walker seemed to have noticed us as it stood up from it's crouched position and lunged towards Rick. The walker didn't even have a chance as everyone, including Morales, Jim, and Dale, began beating it with their weapons.

I rolled my eyes and stepped back, realizing I was no longer needed. Jeremy copied my actions, not seeing his need either. They were still beating the thing as if it was still a threat. It was only one walker - they didn't need to beat it senseless. One of my arrows in the head would end it. Dale finally ended it when he decapitated the walker's head with an axe. "That's the first one we've had up here. They never come up this far up the mountain." Dale pointed out. Everyone was breathing heavily after what had just happened. "They've been running out of food in the city, that's what." Jim sighed. We suddenly heard rustling from behind and everyone turned around, weapon at stance. Shane walked up to the sound and stood the closest, his rifle ready to shoot. But instead of our expected walker appearing, Daryl came out of the bushes. Everyone sighed in relief, knowing we didn't have to deal with another walker. I scoffed at the sight of Daryl, already knowing the trouble he was gonna cause when we would tell him what happened to Merle.

"Son of a bitch." He said as he walked his way out of the bushes and tree stumps. "That's my deer. Look at it, all knawed on by this filthy, disease bearing, motherless, proxy, bastard!" He sneered as he kicked the walker's body with every word. "Calm down son. That's not helping any." Dale said calmly. "What you know about it ol' man?!" Daryl yelled angrily at Dale. I stepped in front of Dale, as sort of protecting him. I knew what Daryl was capable of and I knew he wasn't afraid to hit any "old man". He stopped in front of me, glaring at me for a moment. "You take that stupid hat and go back to Golden Pond." He said, insulting Dale. He sighed as he turned around, his attention back on the deer. "Been tracking this deer for miles," He said as he began pulling out his arrows from the deer's torso. "Was gonna drag it back to camp. What'd you think? Think we can cut around this chewed up part here?" He asked, pointing towards the area he was talking about. "I would not risk that." Shane stated. "It's a damn shame." Daryl sighed. "Well, I got some squirrel - a dozen or so. That'll have to do." A sound brought back my attention and I looked at the walker head and saw it's jaw begin to move. "Oh god." Amy groaned as she and Andrea left the scene is disgust. "C'mon people. What the hell?" Daryl reloaded his crossbow and shot the walker head straight in the eye. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothin'?" He pulled out his arrow out of the walkers head and began walking towards camp, bumping shoulders with me as he passed. I scoffed at his childish actions and began walking towards the camp myself, Jeremy by my side.

-

"Merle, get your ass out here!" Daryl shouted to his non-existent brother. I was ready for the hell Daryl was about to give us. "Got us some squirrel. Let's grill em' up." I exchanged worried glances with Jeremy before Shane spoke. "Daryl, you need to slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." He sent me a reasurring smile, which I didn't send back, as he walked towards Daryl. "Bout what?" Daryl asked as he turned towards Shane. Shane ran a hand over his face. "Bout Merle. There was a...problem in Atlanta." He said as mostly everyone crowded around. I stood next to Jeremy and Glenn and I saw Andrea, Amy, Jacqui, and Lori leaning against the RV. He looked at all of us, with a doubting look on his face. "He dead?"

"Not sure." Shane replied. "He either is or he ain't!" I looked over at Rick and nodded my head at him, ushering him to say something. "No easy way to say it so I'll just say it." Rick said as he walked towards Daryl. "Who are you?" Daryl asked, never seeing Rick before. "Rick Grimes." He stated. "Rick Grimes, you got something you wanna tell me?" Daryl exclaimed, his temper getting the best of him. "Your brother was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him to on a roof and hooked him on a piece of metal. He's still there." At that moment, T-Dog appeared, wood logs stacked in his hands. Daryl walked a few steps ahead, wiping the sweat of his forehead. "Hold on, let me process this. You say you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!?" He shouted his face becoming red. He looked over at me and we made eye contact as he glared at me. "I suppose you had somethin' to do with it!" He threw his bag angrily and began stalking towards me before Shane pushed him to the ground. T-Dog dropped the logs in his hands, prepared to do what he had to do in order to keep the group safe. Daryl pulled out his knife, his attention on Rick now as he swiped his knife at Rick. Rick backed up and the knife missed him by inches he twisted Daryl arm back and Shane got him into a headlock.

"Best let me go." Daryl yelled, struggling against Shane's grip. "Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane's grip seemed to grow tighter the more Daryl struggled. Daryl fell to the floor on his knees, still in Shane's headlock. "I'd like to have a calm, discussion on this topic. You think you can manage that?" Rick asked as he crouched down to Daryl's level. "You think you can manage that?" He repeated after Daryl didn't reply. Shane hesitated but let go of his grip on Daryl's head, shoving it to the ground roughly. "What I did was not on the whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick explained. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key; I dropped it." T-Dog admitted. "Couldn't pick it up?"

"I dropped it in the drain." T-Dog shrugged. Daryl scoffed as he lifted himself off the ground. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." He sneered. "Well maybe this will. I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him - with a padlock." I looked over at Jeremy before looking back at the scene before me. I actually though Daryl would take the news worse and maybe even go on a rampage. This Daryl was actually acting calm due to the situation. "That's gotta count for something." Rick said, putting his hands on his hips. Daryl stood there for a moment and he sniffed as he rubbed his eye, as if wiping away a tear. "To hell with all of y'all! Just tell me where he is so I can go get him."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori said from her spot on the RV. We all looked to Rick, awaiting his answer. "I'm going back." He stated. Lori got a look on her face as she walked back into the RV. I could tell she didn't want her husband to go back there but knowing Rick for the short amount I have, he probably couldn't and_ wouldn't_ change his mind.

Daryl stalked off angrily somewhere, the conversation ending.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat beside Carl on a rock by the lake. Rick, Glenn, Jeremy, T-Dog, and Daryl had all gone to try and get Merle back. I was told to go along, since I knew the area so well but Glenn volunteered for me as he knew the terrain as well as me. I smiled as Carl had another failed attempt of catching frogs. "I'm not getting anything." He mumbled feeling defeated. "Yeah, they're all willey today for some reason. They know somethin's up, somethin's going on." Shane grabbed the bucket he was holding by the sides as he moved through his spot in the water. "We're just gonna have to do this the ol' fashioned way, ain't that right Cheyenne?" Carl grinned as he looked at me and I nodded in response, playing along.

"All right little man, look, you are the the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is go after one of them all right? I'm gonna scare the rest of them off and they're all gonna scattered." Shane instructed. Carl nodded thoughtfully. "You need to round up any bad boy you see, alright?" I said to Carl, grabbing his attention. "Those little fuckers move fast and they don't wait to be caught." Shane gave me a look for swearing but I shrugged. Sometimes, they would just slip and I would pay no mind if children were around. "Alright." Carl exclaimed excitedly.

"You with me? Give me a mean face. Argh!" Shane made a "mean" face and Carl copied his actions as I ruffled his hair. "You ready?" Shane questioned. "Yeah!" Carl exclaimed. Shane stood still for a moment and started slowly putting the bucket in the water before splashing it rapidly and he went into the lake fully, wetting himself. He splashed the water and Carl began laughing, trying his best to catch a frog. Soon after a while, Shane began splashing me on purpose. I squealed as the water hit me and Carl laughed more as Shane continued to made a fool of himself. "What'd ya got? What'd ya got?" Shane asked excitedly as he stopped splashing to give Carl some time to check his net. "Dirt." Carl mumbled, disappointed to see nothing in his net. "Oh boy. Look's like we gotta start over." Shane sighed, pretending to be disappointed as well but I could see a faint smile on his face. We all laughed as Shane sat in the middle of us, shaking his hair like a wet dog. I could feel the sprinkles on my face and me and Carl giggled as we hid our faces.

"Carl," Lori said, appearing from out of nowhere. "What'd I tell ya about leaving Dale's sight?" She asked sternly. "But Shane and Cheyenne said we could catch frogs." Carl defended. "It's doesn't matter what Shane - or Cheyenne - say. It matters what I say, now go on, back to camp." She ordered, nodding her head towards the camp. Carl hastily lifted himself off the rock and sulked his way back to camp. Lori began following him but I decided to say something. "What's your problem?" I asked a bit rudely. Lori had been acting stranger by the minute. She was treating Carl like if he was made of glass and he needed to be protected at all times. I understand that's her kid but she didn't have to be that protective. She turned around and faced me and Shane. "I don't have one - at least that doesn't concern you." She said a bit defense.

"Look, Cheyenne, why don't go on and see that Carl gets to the camp alright. I need to talk to Lori for a minute." I opened my mouth to say something but Shane shot me a look telling me it was time to shut up. I looked back and forth between both of them before sighing and walking. I knew it probably had to do something with Rick coming "back to life" and the problem with Shane and Lori sleeping together - more than once I might add. I rolled my eyes at the soap-opera type drama that was still happening even in this world.

-

"Everything good?" I asked sarcastically. "Shut up, Cheyenne." He muttered as he looked on to Lori and Carl's retracting figures. "Had to do with the whole Rick situation, didn't it?" He looked over at me before sighing irritably. "Look, why don't you just mind your own business - how's that?" He snapped, looking to the floor as he shifted his weight. I scoffed at his actions, previous to others. "Typical Shane, always avoiding his problems." I chuckled without amusement. Shane always seemed to sweep his problems under the rug and never look back at them until it turned into a big, ashy mess. "How many times have I told you it's-"  
"Uncle Shane. I get it." I finished for him. Suddenly, I heard faint arguing from where the girls were doing laundry and Shane apparently heard it too, his head turning towards their direction. Ed was over there and it looked like he was causing trouble. After a few more bits of arguing, Ed struck Carol in the face and Shane immediately started running towards them as I trailed behind him.

When we got there, Shane grabbed Ed by his shirt and dragged a few feet away before shoving him to the ground and began beating him. I stood there, unknowing what to do. My reputation here wasn't very good and I wasn't close to anyone like everyone else. Shane continued to beat the shit out of Ed but after a couple more punches, I realized he wasn't going to stop. He was probably taking out all of his anger from the whole Lori and Rick situation out on Ed. I ran up to his side and grabbed Shane's fist before he could hit Ed again. "Shane, stop!" I yelled, afraid he would beat him to death. His anger faded as he looked at me but he still wrenched his hand out of my grip and stared back at Ed. "You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else at this camp I will not stop next time, do you hear me?" Shane hissed as he grabbed Ed by face. "I'll beat you to death, Ed." He added before punching Ed once more for effect. I could hear Carol crying from behind me and Shane kicked him once more. I saw Carol run to her aid to her "husband". I looked at Shane is surprisement at what he had just done as he stalked off back to the camp.


End file.
